How to fix : High CPU and Memory Usage by MRT.exe

MRT.exe is the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool. A new version of this tool is included with the critical updates every month on “Patch Tuesday” (the first Tuesday of the month). It should run once — at the time you download it — and then be dormant for the rest of the month unless you manually start it up.

MRT.exe should be located in C:Windows\system32. If it is not there, search your entire drive, making sure to check the search options to “search system folders, ” “search hidden files and folders,” and “search subfolders.” If you find MRT.exe somewhere other than C:\Windows\system32, it probably is malware masquerading as the real Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Wherever you find it, delete it. You can download the current version of MRT here.

If, after you delete MRT.exe, you get an error message at startup complaining that MRT cannot be found, download and run Autoruns. Click the “Logon” tab and look in the “Image Path” column for the MRT.exe. If it isn’t shown in the Logon tab, click the “Everything” tab and use the File > Search tool. An idiosyncrasy of the Autoruns search tool is that you have to move the selection line below the “found” item before you “Find Next.” Once you find the entry with MRT.exe, delete it.